The Citadel 17, College of Charleston 14
Charleston, S.C. - Nick Orvin's bases-clearing double in the bottom of the eighth capped a comeback that saw The Citadel score 10 runs in the final two frames to upend College of Charleston, 17-14, in a wild game at Riley Park on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,157 fans.
The Bulldogs (12-19, 7-10) were down 12-5 in the sixth inning, but scored five runs in back-to-back innings in the seventh and the eighth off the Cougar bullpen to complete their largest comeback win of the season and take the series from the Cougars (20-11, 6-5).
Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) set career highs in hits and RBI on the afternoon as the Bulldogs leadoff man went 5-for-5 with five RBI, three doubles, two runs scored and a walk. "I was just trying to hit something hard and fortunately he threw it over the plate and I was able to connect," said Orvin of his game-winning double in the eighth. "We made a commitment as a team to finish games out and play harder and we were able to hang in there today and battle back together."
The Cougars opened the game with a run in the top of the first as Marty Gantt and Cole Rakar hit back-to-back singles off Bulldog starter Austin Pritcher (Charleston, S.C.) and Daniel Aldrich reached on a fielding error by Josh Pless (Boiling Springs, S.C.) at second that sent the ball into right, allowing Gantt to score.
The Bulldogs would take the lead in the bottom of the first as Orvin doubled to right and Cougar starter Josh Renfro hit Drew DeKerlegand (Pearland, Texas) with a pitch to put runners at first and second. A throwing error by Matt Leeds at third on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) allowed Orvin to score and advanced both runners into scoring position. Another sacrifice bunt, by William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.), plated DeKerlegand for a 2-1 lead.
College of Charleston would retake the lead in the third when Leeds scored on an RBI single by Jose Rodriguez and Jamie Holler laced a two-run double to right center to make it 4-2. The Bulldogs would knot the game at four in the fourth when Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) singled home Joe Jackson (Mauldin, S.C.) and Pless then brought home Mackert on an infield hit to second base.
Facing each other for the first time collegiately, older brother Robert Pritcher would give the Cougars a 6-4 lead in the top of the fifth when he belted his first collegiate homer off younger brother Austin past the right field wall. Pritcher went just 4.2 innings for the Bulldogs, allowing a career-high 13 hits, six runs (five earned), two walks and struck out three in a no-decision.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldogs would close the gap when Orvin came around to score after leading off with a base hit, moving to third on a throwing error by Pritcher behind the plate and scoring on an error by Aldrich in left field when a fly ball off the bat of Simonelli bounced out of his glove. Aldrich would make up for it when he smashed a two-run homer to right in the sixth as the Cougars broke the game open with six runs in the frame. An RBI single by Holler, a wild pitch and two Bulldog errors in the inning would make it 12-5 for Charleston.
The Citadel then outscored the College of Charleston, 12-2, over the final three frames as an RBI single by Brad Felder (Bowman, S.C.) would score Mackert and a double by Orvin to left field to score Felder in the bottom of the sixth would allow the Bulldogs to slowly chip away.
Ladd was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the seventh to begin a Bulldogs rally against the Cougar bullpen after Renfro exited, going 6.0 innings and allowing eight hits, seven runs (four earned), one walk and struck out a career-high nine batters. Jackson then walked and Mackert reached on a fielder's choice, eliminating Ladd at third base for the second out. Pinch-hitter Tyler Griffin (Hawthorne, Fla.) then ripped a double to the right field corner to score Jackson and Ryne Hardwick (Conway, S.C.) came on to pinch hit and drew a walk, reaching base for the first time in his career to load the bases. Felder followed with a single to score Mackert and Griffin. After a wild pitch by new reliever and Cougar closer Kyle Owings brought Hardwick home, Orvin then singled through the left side to score Felder to tie the game.
Rakar quickly untied the game in the top of the eighth as he launched a solo homer to left field and Rob Harding's bloop single into shallow right later scored Leeds to make it 14-12 for the Cougars.
Not to be outdone, the Bulldogs responded in their own fashion in the bottom of the eighth as Simonelli singled to third base, Ladd was hit by his second pitch of the game and Jackson's sac bunt attempt went for a base hit when the Cougar infield could not field the ball cleanly to load the bases with no outs. After a strikeout by Owings, Griffin then singled through the right side to score Simonelli and Ladd and once again tie the game. Hughston Armstrong (Columbia, S.C.) entered as a pinch runner for Griffin and Legare Jones (Columbia, S.C.) then reached on a fielder's choice when a slow dribbler to the mound went untouched. After a strikeout for the second out, Orvin laced a bases-clearing double into the gap in left center for the go ahead runs to make it 17-14 for The Citadel heading to the ninth inning.
Jeremy Long (Clover, S.C.), who recorded the final three outs of the eighth inning, stayed in and picked up the win in the ninth. The junior right-hander went 2.0 innings, allowing three hits, one run and a walk and got Rakar to ground into a game-ending double play in the ninth to improve to 2-1 on the season. "It was an adrenaline rush to be able to go back out there and close out the game for us," said Long. "We kept fighting, kept scraping when we were down. Things can turn in a hurry in a game as we have found out this year. Fortunately for us, we were able to grind out a big win today."
The two teams combined for 31 runs (the most in the series history), 38 hits, eight errors, nine pitchers, 10 walks and left 21 on base.
"Our guys really fought hard to comeback today," said head coach Fred Jordan. "When they (College of Charleston) went up seven, we could have easily rolled up and focused on Sunday. Hopefully we can continue to get better tomorrow."
The Citadel and College of Charleston meet in the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Riley Park. Live audio, video and stats will be available. Stay current on Bulldog Baseball at all new CitadelSports.com.
Western Carolina 3, Samford 2
Cullowhee, N.C. - Redshirt senior Stephen Notaro put Western Carolina ahead for good with an opposite field, two-run home run over the right field fence in the bottom of the sixth inning, and five relief pitchers combined to secure the victory for the Catamounts over Samford, 3-2, in Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
The final game of the three-game series is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 pm. Fans can follow the game online at www.CatamountSports.com<http://www.catamountsports.com/> with live GameTracker.
Freshman starter Jordan Smith (4-3) earned the win for the Catamounts, limiting Samford to two runs on six hits through seven innings, working into the eighth. The Liberty, N.C., native finished with seven strikeouts against two walks. Sophomore Jeremy Sluder was the last of five relievers used in the win, picking up his first career save after issuing an intentional walk and getting a ground ball out to end the game.
Senior Andrew Chilcoat, who was key in Friday night's win out of the bullpen, tossed two thirds of an inning with both Vance Chavis and Sluder recording one out apiece in relief. Morgan McKinney came on in relief of Andrew Blackwell, who was the first out of the pen for head coach Bobby Moranda on Saturday.
Brandon Miller put the Bulldogs ahead in the top of the second inning, hitting the first pitch of the frame over the fence in center field to give Samford the 1-0 lead. Following the homer, Smith rallied to strike out the next two batters. Miller finished 3-for-3 with a homer, double and a pair of walks, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
An inning later, the Catamounts took advantage of the first of two Samford errors. Aaron Attaway drove a one-out single up the middle and was moved to second on the first of three hits by Cameron Dullnig. Attaway scored the game-tying run on an infield error off the bat of Ross Heffley, knotting the game at one apiece.
Dullnig finished 3-for-4 with a trio of singles while Tyler White legged out WCU's only other extra base hit with a double in the eighth inning.
The Bulldogs surged back in front with a single run in the top of the sixth inning as Miller doubled to left field, again putting the first pitch of the at bat into play. Smith again fanned the next two batters of the inning before a single by Stephen Ballard drove home the go-ahead run.
Freshman Adam Martin led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to center field and was at second when Notaro went with a full-count pitch - the seventh of his at bat - and sailed over the right field fence to give WCU the 3-2 advantage.
Samford (20-13, 8-6 SoCon) threatened in both the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings, but the WCU pitching staff was able to shut the door to preserve the win.
Back-to-back singles and a walk loaded the bases in the eighth with no outs. McKinney was then summonsed from the bullpen and induced a pop-up just off the infield grass for the first out and Schultz made a diving stab on a hot-shot at third, throwing home for the second out and saving a run. Chilcoat then got an infield ground ball to Tyler White, covering the bag to end the frame.
In the ninth, consecutive one-out singles put two aboard and chased Chilcoat, with Chavis getting a ground ball out that moved runners to second and third with two away. Sluder then intentionally walked Miller and got C.K. Irby to ground out to end the game.
The teams combined to leave 21 on base including 12 by the Bulldogs and nine for WCU.
Starter Charles Basford was tagged with the loss for the Bulldogs, surrendering three runs on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts. The Samford bullpen held WCU to three base hits over the final three innings.
Appalachian State 10, Furman 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Nathan Hyatt threw eight strong innings to lead Appalachian State to a 10-2 victory over Furman in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
Hyatt, a sophomore from Brevard, N.C., handcuffed Furman (16-16, 7-6 SoCon) offensively, allowing only four hits and no earned runs to help Appalachian State (17-15, 5-9 SoCon) knot the three-game series at a game apiece heading into Sunday's 1:00 p.m. finale. The right-hander, who retired the final nine batters he faced and threw 115 pitches, 77 of which were strikes, walked three and struck out six before departing with a 9-2 lead.
Appalachian State banged out 12 hits in the contest, with Jack Myers, Zach Briggs, and Daniel Kassouf, and Preston Troutman collecting two hits apiece. Jeremy Dowdy drove in a pair of runs with a two-run single in the sixth.
Reese Wade doubled and had two of Furman's four hits.
The Mountaineers combined a hit with two Paladin errors and two walks to plate a pair of unearned runs in the fourth.
Furman tied it at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth with two unearned runs.
ASU took the lead for good in the fifth on Briggs' third home run of the year, a solo shot to left field off Paladin starting and losing pitcher Daniel Stallsmith (3-2).
The Mountaineers blew the game open in the sixth, sending 11 men to the plate and bunched three hits with three walks, two hit batsmen, a balk, and a wild pitch to tally six runs. Preston Troutman was hit by a pitch to lead off and later scored the first run of the frame after a Stallsmith pitch hit Trey Holmes with the bases loaded. Stallsmith's replacement, Matt Plate, walked Myers to force in another run, and then yielded a two-run single to Jeremy Dowdy. Kassouf and Troutman finished off the big inning with RBI singles for a 9-2 lead.
Stallsmith allowed seven runs, five of which were earned, on seven hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings.
Davidson 14, UNCG 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. - In a run-one game until the bottom of the seventh, the Davidson Wildcats never trailed and made sure of it, using an eight-run eighth inning to defeat UNCG, 14-3, and even the SoCon series Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Senior RHP Ian Horkley (W, 4-3) allowed just two hits and struck out seven in six innings for Davidson (15-15, 7-9 SoCon), leaving the game with a 3-2 lead on the way to earning his seventh straight decision in as many starts.
Senior RHP Mike Frongello (S, 5) took over with the one-run lead in the seventh and held UNCG (17-12, 9-5 SoCon) to just a pair of hits for one unearned run in the three-inning save.
The Wildcat offense, meanwhile, busted open the close game with three runs in the seventh before exploding for eight in the eighth. Davidson finished with 13 hits, led by freshman catcherDaniel Gerow's 3-for-4, RBI day. Junior center fielder Seth Freeman (2-for-4, RBI) and senior designated hitter Danny Weiss (2-for-4, 4 RBI) also had multi-hit games, and like Weiss, junior first baseman Drew Gadaire (1-for-2, 4 RBI) drove in four runs.
UNCG's freshman LHP Brandon Browne kept the Wildcats in check, allowing just a pair of runs on three hits and striking out four in four innings. Davidson did its damage against the Spartan bullpen, handing the loss to Greg Smith (L, 0-1), who worked two innings, struck out three and allowed the winning run in the fifth. Jonathan Jones, Zach Furl, Pete Schultz and Dylan Newton combined to allow 11 runs on nine hits over the final two innings.
The Wildcats took an early 2-0 lead on a two-RBI double to the corner in left by sophomore third baseman Andrew Barna (1-for-5, 2 RBI) that scored Freeman (single) and Weiss (walk). Greensboro got one back in the second on a leadoff home run from Thomas Troelstrup, who tied the game on an RBI-groundout in the fourth that drove in Trevor Edwards, who led off with a double to right. But those were the only two hits Horkley surrendered, and after the Wildcats took the lead on a sac fly from Gadaire in the fifth, he headed to the dugout with the slim 3-2 lead.
Appearing for a second straight day, Frongello fielded a quick groundout before giving up a base hit to Zach Leach in the seventh, but sophomore shortstop Michael Zeblo turned the second of Davidson's season-high three double plays to get out of the inning. The Wildcats got some breathing room with three runs on four hits in the bottom half. Gerow and Freeman hit back-to-back, one-out infield singles to third base and scored a batter later as Gadaire stretched a triple out of a ball hit down the right field line. In the next at-bat, Weiss slapped a base hit to center field to score Gadaire and give Davidson a comfortable 6-2 lead.
Greensboro added a run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Chris Barker, scoring pinch hitter Joe Hager, who walked and moved to third on a fielding error by Barna. But Zeblo turned a second inning-ending double play to limit the damage, and the Wildcats exploded for eight runs on five hits and an error in the bottom of the inning to square the series at a game apiece. Payne singled and was sacrificed by Zeblo, scoring on an RBI-single from Gerow after Sigelbaum drew a walk. Freeman reached on a fielding error, but picked up an RBI as Sigelbaum scored, and Brandt loaded the bases with a base hit to left. With Newton taking over for Schultz, Gadaire was plunked for his fourth RBI, and Weiss cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to the wall in center field. As the ‘Cats batted around, Payne drew a two-out walk in his second plate appearance, and Zeblo doubled to left to send in the Wildcats' final two runs. Frongello gave up just a two-out infield single in the top of the ninth to earn his fifth save of the season.
Davidson and UNCG will play the rubber match tomorrow at 1 p.m. Wilson Field. Junior RHP Ryan Overcash (1-2, 3.48) will start for Davidson, against senior RHP Colby Hyatt (3-1, 4.03) for the Spartans.
Game Two of Elon-Wofford Baseball Series Suspended
ELON, N.C. -- Game two of the Southern Conference baseball series between Elon and Wofford has been suspended in the middle of the fifth inning. The scoreless contest will resume from the point it was suspended at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. Game three of the series will be played immediately after the conclusion of game two.
Resumption of the Marshall Series Delay to Sunday
Games one and two played in a Sunday Doubleheader starting at 11:05 a.m.
BECKLEY, W.Va. - Resumption of game one of the series between Georgia Southern (18-12) and Marshall (10-17) has been delayed until Sunday at 11:05 a.m. Severe thunderstorm warnings in the area delayed the start of the game and it was eventually decided to play on Sunday. Games one and two will be played in a Sunday doubleheader starting at 11:05 a.m.
Four Eagle batters went to the plate in the top of the first inning on Friday night before lightning was spotted in the area. Game one will resume with a runner on second base and two outs in the top of the first inning, and game two will follow shortly after the conclusion of the first game.
Georgia Southern got off to a quick start, scoring a run off an Eric Phillips' (Carrollton, Ga.) single up the middle. Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.) smoked the first pitch he saw from Aaron Blair down the left field line for a double. Ben Morgan (Evans, Ga.) dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move him to third base before the Phillips' hit.